Monday, July 7, 2014

Rajya Sabha passes NID Bill

The government pushed through the ‘National Institute of Design Bill, 2013’ in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the budget session of Parliament. The BJP-led NDA government, which is a minority in the Upper House, managed to pass the Bill with help from the Congress. The Bill originally drafted by the UPA government is not contentious and was introduced in the Rajya Sabha last year by former Commerce Minister Anand Sharma. Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, who moved the Bill for consideration and passage, explained its provisions seeking to declare the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, as an institution of national importance. Currently, the NID is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and as an autonomous institution under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. Now, the NID can establish institute campuses anywhere within or outside India.